BERLIN Jaleel Johnson Vikings Jersey , July 26 (Xinhua) -- The German clothing and sports equipment producer Puma SE has witnessed a significant boost to its profits in the second quarter of 2017, the company headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria revealed on Wednesday.

Puma made profits of 21.9 million euros (25.5 million U.S. dollars) in the April-June period, compared 1.6 million euros during the same period in 2016.

The operating result (earnings before interest and taxes) improved to 43 million euros from the 11.9 million euros a year ago, as strong sales growth was combined with an improved gross profit margin.

The firm, which competes internationally with the likes of sportswear giants Adidas and Nike Pat Elflein Vikings Jersey , has already repeatedly raised its annual forecasts for 2017. Gross revenue in the second quarter rose by 17.2 percent to a total of 968.7 million euros.

Puma CEO Bjoern Gulden said that his company had experienced two-digit percentage growth in all of its core regions. The development was particularly favorable in the shoe and textile divisions.

Adjusted for currency effects, gross revenue is predicted to grow by 12 to 14 percent in 2017 while operating profits rise by 128 million euros compared to last year to reach between 205 and 215 million euros.

Some of the richest, smartest and most powerful humans have an important message for the rest of us as they convened this week to discuss pressing global issues: the robots are coming.

At the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, at least four panels so far have focused on technology taking over markets to mining - and most importantly Kai Forbath Jersey , jobs.

"Most of the benefits we see from automation is about higher quality and fewer errors, but in many cases it does reduce labor," Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, said on Tuesday during a panel on "Is Any Job Truly Safe?"

The four-day annual conference, which began on Sunday Nick Easton Jersey , has 3,500 invite-only participants exploring "The Future of Human Kind."

Technology has not only done away with low-wage, low-skill jobs, some of the more than 700 speakers said. They cited robots operating trucks in some Australian mines; corporate litigation software replacing employees with advanced degrees who used to sift through thousands of documents prior to trials; and on Wall Street, the automation of jobs previously done by bankers with MBAs or PhDs.

"Anyone whose job is moving data from one spreadsheet to another ..., that's what is going to get automated Ryan Quigley Jersey ," said Daniel Nadler, chief executive of Kensho, a financial services analytics company partly owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).

"Goldman Sachs will be in here in 10 years, JPMorgan will be here. They're just going to be much more efficient in terms of operating leverage and headcount," he added.

Big banks have slashed tens of thousands of jobs in recent years as businesses like bond trading have become less profitable. Under tremendous pressure from investors to boost profits, but unable to grow revenue much Mike Remmers Jersey , banks have increasingly turned to technology to reduce costs.

A Citigroup Inc (C.N) report in March suggested that more pain is on the way for financial industry staff. Citi's analysts predicted a 30 percent drop in banking jobs across the United States and Europe over the next decade.

Martin Ford, an author and entrepreneur, argued that while the so-called gig economy has created temporary jobs for independent contractors, the next step is to get rid of them. The ride-hailing service Uber, for example, is investing heavily in building cars that do no need drivers Riley Reiff Jersey , he said.

David Siegel, co-chairman of the quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma Latavius Murray Jersey , blamed technology for income problems that have led to political upheavals around the world over the past several years.

"One of the big causes for the stagnation of middle class wages is essentially because of clever computer programs," Siegel said during a panel about artificial intelligence.

Some panelists were less dire in their assessments.

Billionaire investor Steve Cohen said it would take awhile before robots replace stockpickers like himself. Kate Mitchell, co-founder of Scale Venture Partners, said freelance sites have allowed workers to supplement their income.

"It's easy to villainize technology," she said, "but there is a lot of opportunity there at the same time."

Reebok treadmills are a well recognized brand in the home gym equipment industry. All around the globe the Reebok name is symbolic of high quality sporting products and in the case of Reebok treadmills it is no different.

Interestingly enough the Reebok fitness treadmills are not produced by Reebok as some may think Case Keenum Jersey , but instead Icon Health and Fitness, the largest manufacturer of workout equipment in the entire world. By teaming up with Icon, Reebok have been able to stick their own label on few high quality treadmills without the big operating costs of making and developing the cross trainers on their own.